A Capo is a device for clamping the strings of a guitar or other stringed instrument against the neck of the instrument in order to change their pitch. In the past, Capos have involved screws, cams, and spring loaded clamps for attaching the device to the instrument neck. Spring loaded clamps have become popular because they can be opened and moved to a new position with one hand. However, one problem with prior art spring loaded Capos is that they require considerable hand force to open, and thus can be difficult to keep open as required to position the Capo over the strings. These units have a single pivot point, so that the only way to improve the mechanical advantage is to make the handles very long, which in turn makes the Capo inconvenient and unattractive in use.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a spring loaded Capo which requires relatively little effort to keep open, but yet is small and convenient to use.